Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

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Reno's Life: Chp 41

"Hey, Uncle Reno?"

"Yeah, Denzel?"

"Can Marlene and I borrow your EMR to play tag?"

Reno nearly choked on his beer.

"W-What?!"

"We wanna use your EMR to play tag! Can we???"

"No way, yo! It's too dangerous! Cloud and Tifa trusted Elena and I to babysit you tonight and we can't let anything bad happen or we'll be in a heck of a lot of trouble, so the answer is no"

"Awww…"

"Sorry, yo"

"Well, then…Could Marlene and I at least have another cupcake for dessert?"

Reno thought for a while, then smiled mischievously.

"Oho, I see what you did"

"What did I do?"

"You started out with something big, then bargained down to something smaller, didn't you?"

"…."

"Yeah, well, I invented that, so you can't fool me"

"…Can we still have the cupcakes?"

"…Sure, why not"

Denzel ran off cheering and almost knocked Elena over as he ran into the kitchen she was exiting. Elena smiled warmly at the young boy, then took a seat next to Reno on the couch.

"Wow, they're really well-behaved, aren't they Reno?"

"Yeah, thank goodness"

Elena found the remote to the TV and began watching the news. Reno looked away indifferently, when suddenly he came up with an idea.

"'Lenaaaaa", he whined playfully.

"Yes, Reno?"

"The kids are busy in the kitchen and we're all alone. Do you want to-?"

"No", Elena answered, cutting him off before he even finished. She knew Reno well and knew exactly what he was going to ask.

Reno stood silent in shock at the swiftness of the answer. He shook it off and continued with his original idea.

"Oh…"

Elena ignored him and continued watching TV.

"'lena?"

"Yes, Reno?"

"If you don't want to do that, then…could I have a little peck on the cheek instead, yo?"

Elena looked at him and thought for a while. She stared into his eyes and he stared directly back at her; none dropping their gaze for a second.

"…Alright"

The blonde leaned forward and pecked Reno on the cheek. Reno inwardly cheered when suddenly, the children pounced on the Turks and snuggled up against them, watching the news along with their babysitters. Reno turned his head and looked at Elena with a smile.

'Heh…I invented it… and I mastered it, yo!'

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A/N: Okay, I'll admit it. I have used this type of 'negotiating' before and I bet you all have too when you were younger (or maybe even now)! And it is effective! ...Sometimes. Anyway, thank you all very much for reading this chapter. Please review!